Constituion Notes
 
Goals of the constituion in the preamble:
Form a more perfect union
Establish Justice
Insure Domestic Tranquility
Provide for the Common Defense
Promote the General welfare
Secure the Blessings of Liberty
Articles of the Constitution
I- Provides for Congress as the Legislative branch of Government
II- Executive power is vested in a President, and how to elect -by Electoral College
III- Creates Supreme Court
IV- Domestic Tranquility- state relations
V- How to amend the constitution
VI- SUPREMACY CLAUSE- constitution shall be the supreme law of the land
VII- Ratification procedure

Powers of the Constitution (p. 89)
Delegated (enumerated)- those given by the constitution
Example- national government controls immigration, army, postal system
Prohibited- powers that are denied
Example- NO excessive bail, cruel or unusual punishment, self-incrimination
Reserved- power the people keep
Example- states reserve the power set up schools, make marriage and divorce laws
Concurrent- shared among the levels of government
Example- the federal, state, and local have the power to tax

At the Constitutional Convention they chose not to deal with slavery because it was so controversial.
Constitutional Compromises
3/5 compromise for taxation and representation purposes a slave would count as 3/5 of a person
Great Compromise congress would have 2 houses, the senate based on equal representation, and the House of Representatives based on population.
Electoral College New and untried method of electing the President, invented at the Constitutional convention
Why-
Indirect election was the established tradition in colonial America
They rejected the idea of congress electing president b/c that violated the principle of separation of powers
Popular vote was soundly rejected by the framers of the constitution.
Electoral College satisfied both big and small states (b/c part of the Electoral College is based on EQUAL representation and part is based on POPULATION)
Each state's electoral votes are equal the number of senators plus number of representatives that state has in congress.

Changes in the electoral college
-Originally State Legislatures selected the electors to the Electoral College
Each elector cast 2 ballots for President and the candidate who finished second was VP
If there was no majority the House of Rep. decided, with each state having one vote.
-By 1832 all states except SC had approved a Popular Vote for the electors
-12th amendment- said each elector would cast one vote for Pres. and one for VP so candidates from the same party would be elected for both offices.
-23rd amendment- Gave the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) 3 electoral votes

Today there are 538 electors in the Electoral College. A candidate needs 270 to win
-100 for U.S. senators of the fifty states
-435 for the House of Representatives
-3 for the District of Columbia

Electoral College- to change it, it would take a constitutional amendment

It would not be in some groups' interest to change the current system

Small States- For example, 7 states currently have 3 electoral votes. If based on population only, their voice would be reduced. 5states have 4, thus if the election was based solely on population their voice would be reduced by 50%, becasue 1/2 of their votes in the Electoral College are based of the equal representation aspect of it. A state like KS, who has 6 electoral votes, 1/3 are based the equal representation part of the Electoral College.

For example-
In the Electoral college Alaska makes up 3/538 which is .0055% whereas in a straight popular vote their population is 626,932/ 281,421,906 which is .0022%. Thus the benifit of .0033% because of the equal representation part of the electoral college.
A state like Rhode Island has for electoral votes. 4/538 is .0074 whereas without the electoral college based only on population they make up 1,048,319 out of 281,421,906 which is .0037 a difference of .0037 which is 50%.

Minorities- Under the current system, a candidate can't hope to win without taking some of the states with large populations that have a large number of electoral votes such as-
CA(49% minority) has 55 electoral votes
TX(44% of which is minority) has 34 electoral votes
NY(36% minority) has 31 electoral votes
FL(33% minority) has 27 electoral votes
The states with the largest electoral votes also have large minority populations, well above the numbers for America as a whole. A candidate needs their vote to carry the state, whereas in a national populare election these groups could be more easily ignored. In a national popular election these minority groups would lose their clout, because they make up a much smaller percentage of the United States' total population(26%), whereas they make up 33-49% of the population in the states aboved mentioned. Hispanics for example make up 12.5% of the overall US population, but in many states with large electoral votes they make up a much larger percent. For example 28.6% in Texas or 28.1% in California, both states with large electoral votes that will help a candidate get to the 270 needed to win. If a candidate hopes to carry these states he needs to address the issues important to them. It is harder to ignore 28% than it is 12%.

Republicans & Democrats- the current system favors the two party system because of the winner take all policy with electoral votes- 3rd party candidates are not viable options.

Presidents who have won without receiving a majority of the popular vote:

John Quincy Adams Abraham Lincoln Woodrow Wilson Bill Clinton JFK George W. Bush Grover Cleveland

Presidents who got the highest popular vote-
Nixon (biggest ever in 1972)
2nd highest ever- LBJ
3rd - Warren G. Harding

The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights

Constitutional Amendments
1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition
2. Right to keep and bear arms
3. Soldiers not to be quartered in private homes
4. Prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure
5. Protection against self- incrimination and double jeopardy
6. Right to a speedy trial, an attorney, and to confront witnesses
7. Trial by jury in civil cases
8. Prohibition against cruel or unusual punishment and excessive bail
9. Any rights not listed are not to be denied to the people
10. Powers not delegated to the national government nor prohibited to the state are reserved to the states or the people. Balances the power of the government and the freedom of the people.
11. Forbids suits against the states by U.S. citizens and aliens. States cannot be sued without their consent.
12. Reformed the Electoral College as a method of electing the President.
13. Prohibits slavery
14. Made ex-slaves citizens 13-15 are the Civil War Amendments
15. Voting rights cannot be denied because of race
16. Allows Congress to pass a graduated income tax.
17. Direct popular election of U.S. senators.
18. National prohibition of liquor.
19. Voting rights for women
20. Changed the dates for the beginning of terms for President and Congress.
21. Repealed Prohibition
22. Two elected term limit for the President
23. Gave the District of Columbia 3 electoral votes
24. Prohibits POLL TAX requirement for voting
25. Presidential succession, filling vice-presidential vacancy, and presidential disability
26. Set voting age at 18. Called the Vietnam War amendment.

27. Congress cannot vote itself a raise that takes effect before the next election.



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